If you find yourself needing to urinate frequently, you may be wondering what you can do to stop the urge. Though the condition is common, you may feel a sense of shame or distress about your frequent urination, especially if it disrupts your daily activities.
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, you are more likely to experience frequent urination if you have Type 2 diabetes or are going through menopause. Both of these conditions can cause your pelvic floor muscles to weaken, which may give you the sudden urge to urinate. Fortunately, once you understand what may be causing your frequent urination, you can take steps toward remedying your symptoms.
How Diabetes Can Damage Your Bladder
If you have Type 2 diabetes, you are likely to experience frequent urination, particularly when your blood sugar levels rise. High blood sugar levels can damage your blood vessels and nerves, which may affect the bladder. Your urinary tract may also become damaged.
If you have Type 2 diabetes and currently experience frequent urination, you should know that:
- Your health history can increase your risk. If you have a history of hypertension or high cholesterol, you might feel the urge to urinate more frequently. Smoking or alcohol usage can also increase the likelihood of having a high body mass index, which is another risk factor.
- You may develop a urinary tract infection. Since high blood sugar levels can cause nerve damage and pressure on the bladder, you will be more likely than other people to develop urinary tract infections.
- You may only experience urinary frequency at night. It is possible that you have nocturia, a condition that causes frequent nighttime urination. Your nocturia may be related to your diabetes.
- You may be at heightened risk for kidney disease. Bladder damage and chronic urinary tract infections can eventually lead to more serious conditions like kidney disease. If you have concerns about kidney disease, consider scheduling an appointment with a urologist to improve your kidney health.
The Relationship Between Frequent Urination and Menopause
Older women may not realize that menopause can contribute to frequent urination. When your body approaches menopause, your estrogen levels drop. Since estrogen helps with pelvic floor strength, you may feel the urge to urinate more often than you did before menopause.Â
In addition to weakening your bladder, menopause may cause your pelvic floor muscles to weaken. You can lose the elasticity in your bladder when this happens, which can cause bladder-related issues such as nocturia.
Another bladder-related condition commonly associated with menopause is urinary incontinence. When you have urinary incontinence, you lose control of your bladder and may not be able to hold urine; this condition is known as stress urinary incontinence. This is from weakness of the sphincter muscle. You may start leaking urine, especially while you happen to be laughing, sneezing, or exercising. This condition is also known as overactive bladder.
What Are Some Other Common Causes of Frequent Urination?
While Type 2 diabetes and menopause can both contribute to frequent urination, other people might feel the urge to urinate frequently for other reasons, including:
- Urinary tract infection
- Vaginitis (swelling or discharge of the vulva or vagina)
- Nerve-related problems
- Kidney infection
- Too much alcohol or caffeine
- Too much fluid in a day
- Taking diuretics (medications to relieve water retention)
In addition, frequent urination may be caused by other factors, such as obesity or insomnia. Since frequent urination is such a broad symptom with a number of causes, it is best to consult a urologist if you are having issues. Speaking to a urologist can help relieve any concerns you may have about your bladder and kidney health.
What You Can Do to Relieve Your Symptoms
Frequent urination can get in the way of daily life, especially if it disrupts your sleep or you lose control of your bladder. Fortunately, you can lessen the symptoms of most bladder-related issues with a few healthy lifestyle changes.
If you are interested in treating frequent urination from home, you can:
- Avoid drinking too much alcohol or caffeine
- Reduce your intake of artificial sweeteners, spicy foods, citrus fruits, chocolate (not white chocolate) and tomato-based foods
- Reduce drinking carbonated beverages
- Monitor fluid intake (drink just enough to prevent constipation and over-concentration of urine)
- Avoid drinking a few hours before bedtime
- Try doing pelvic floor muscle, or kegel, exercises (tightening and holding your pelvic muscles tight to strengthen the pelvic floor)
- Practice double voiding (empty your bladder twice, waiting a few seconds in between). This requires relaxing the pelvic floor, do not strain.
- Set a bathroom schedule to go every two to four hours with the goal of preventing a feeling of urgency to regain control
There are also a number of medical treatments available for frequent urination to try if home remedies don’t work. These include:
- Prescription medications that help relax the bladder muscle, including pills, gels and patches
- Pelvic floor muscle training and Biofeedback, which teaches you how to control your pelvic muscles better
- Nerve stimulation to help create pelvic floor contractions performed in the clinic
- Bladder Botox, if other treatments do not work, which causes the bladder to relax, increases the storage capacity and reduces the number of leaks
Check with your urologist to see what treatment is best for you.
More to Read
- Everything You Need to Know About Urinary Incontinence
- Urinary Tract Infections: Prevention is Key
- Should I See a Urologist or My Primary Care Provider?
- Are You At Risk for Kidney Stones?
Medically reviewed by R. Duane Cespedes, MD
